Remember Me
by FifiDoll
Summary: Rory doesn't believe that someone can change the past. His grumpy teacher is out to prove him wrong, and Rory finds  himself faced with the challenge of going back to 2011 and getting his parents back together.
1. Chapter 1

"The time machine is really fun, Rory, I don't know why you won't give it a try," Harmony Hudson said to her best friend with a laugh. "You know you won't mess anything up if you do it right."

Rory Evans sighed and glanced over at Harmony in exasperation. She was kind of annoying when she got all persistent like this. It was one of the many things Rory _tolerated_, but really wasn't a fan of – Harmony would just not let up until she got her way. "I know I won't mess anything up," Rory said as he propped his feet up and rolled his eyes.

They were sitting in study hall at the end of the day on a Friday, and they'd finished their homework long before so now they just sat in the back chatting. Harmony narrowed her eyes at him and asked, "Is this your stubborn 'you can't change the past' attitude again? Because they've taught us in class that you _can_ change the past with time travel."

"You really need to stop reading those ancient Harry Potter books," Rory teased. "They're doing crazy things to your head."

Harmony scoffed and slammed her math book shut. Their study hall supervisor, Mr. Flanagan, glared up at them. He was an ill-tempered old man with wrinkles and a heavy accent that Rory always made fun of, and he was always putting a damper on their conversations. "I went back in time and sang for my mom and one of your dads and I didn't change anything about their lives," Harmony argued. "I sang for them and then they left. They think I'm their competition when they apply to NYADA, but we both know how that ends. I didn't change a thing."

Rory didn't even turn his head to face Harmony when he glared at her; he just narrowed his eyelids and glanced at her from the corners of his eyes. "You're being annoying," he said simply.

"I'm your cousin and you love me," Harmony replied with a grin.

Rory let out a heavy sigh and let his feet drop to the floor as he saw Mr. Flanagan stand and begin to walk towards them, probably to scold them for talking _yet again_. He started to pack up his books and hissed, "I don't know why it's a big deal, anyway. Dad and Pa have shown me plenty of pictures of what they looked like back then. I don't need to go back in time just to see it in person."

"It's fun!" Harmony cried out.

Mr. Flanagan cleared his throat from where he stood in front of their table, and they looked up at him timidly. "Sorry," she winced.

Rory didn't say a word; he hated having to apologize for having a simple, hushed conversation – whether it was annoying him or not. "I hear we have a skeptic, here," Mr. Flanagan said simply.

Harmony smiled and took a deep breath. "Yes, sir. Rory here doesn't think that time travel is entertaining at all, and he doesn't believe that one can go back and change the past," she rattled off, earning herself a heavy glare from her cousin. "I'm trying to convince him otherwise."

"You don't think someone can change the past?" Mr. Flanagan asked, his harsh voice startling Rory just a bit. His accent was heavy but Rory understood every word. "We'll see what you think about that when you get home."

Rory's eyes went wide and he watched as Mr. Flanagan moved as though he were in slow motion. He snapped his fingers and Rory felt a strange jolt in his chest, like part of him was suddenly missing. Harmony furrowed her brow in confusion and looked from Mr. Flanagan, to Rory, and back to Mr. Flanagan. "What did you just do?" she asked curiously.

"Ask Rory that tonight," Mr. Flanagan said with a malicious grin. "I'm sure he'll be able to tell you all about it."

With a scoff, Rory went back to stuffing his things in his bag as Mr. Flanagan walked to the front of the classroom. The bell rang and Rory walked out to Harmony's car with her. She always drove him home after school, and as far as he could tell, nothing had changed and Mr. Flanagan's threat had been just a ploy to scare him. Rory said this out loud and Harmony bit her lip. "What?" he asked as the car sped down the street towards his house. "You really think that all he has to do is snap his fingers and he can change the past? He didn't even put any effort into it."

"I don't know," Harmony admitted hesitantly. "I mean…he seemed so sure. And you always joke that he's a leprechaun and can use magic…what if he really is?"

Rory snickered and used his best Irish accent when he teased, "Aww, Harmony's afraid of a wee little leprechaun."

She shuddered and said, "It's creepy how authentic that sounds, Rory. You really need to stop that."

Rory let out a hearty laugh at that and spotted his house in the distance. The lights weren't on like usual, but he didn't give it another thought. "Call me tonight and tell me what Mr. Flanagan did," Harmony instructed as Rory climbed out of the car.

He didn't even grace her with a reply as he shut the car door and waved goodbye to her. Rory walked up the path to the front door and walked inside, surprised to see his parents in two separate rooms. They were almost always with each other – it was seriously kind of sickening sometimes. "Dad? Pa?" Rory asked as he walked in.

"Dad," he smiled as he spotted Kurt chopping vegetables in the kitchen.

Kurt was on the phone and grinning like he usually did for Rory's Pa. Kurt didn't even acknowledge Rory's presence in the room, he just kept talking. "Yes, Blaine, it's fine," Kurt said with a love-struck smile. "Be here in one hour and we'll have dinner and then we can go out dancing."

Rory froze and his jaw dropped. Hadn't Kurt heard him? He was standing _right next to him_ and expected Rory to just be fine with his dad making plans with another man? "Dad, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Rory asked roughly. "Where's Pa? What is going on?"

He walked out of the kitchen and down to the basement where his other dad could usually be found writing some songs. There he was, playing guitar as usual, but he was humming a tune and throwing out random lines as he strummed. "Pa, thank God," Rory said as he rushed across the basement to Sam's side.

Sam didn't acknowledge him either. He just kept strumming out a sweet melody, little lines peppered in here and there, mostly about someone named Mercedes. Either his dad was singing about a car, or he was singing about a woman, and either way…something was wrong. "Pa?" Rory asked again.

He waved his hand in front of Sam's eyes but Sam didn't even look up. Rory huffed and said, "Fine. I don't know what I did this time but you guys can't ignore me forever."

Rory stormed upstairs to his room, only to find that his bed and all of his things were gone. His jaw dropped as he stepped into the room and looked around. Now in place of his bed, there was a work table, and in place of his TV and video games and desk there were piles of fabric and mannequins with half-sewn clothing on them, and Rory was furious. "Dad!" he shouted as he stormed down to the kitchen. "Who said you could move your designing stuff into my room!" Rory purposely stomped in to try to get Kurt's attention, but it didn't work. "I know we talked about it but we never really decided."

Kurt just went right on talking to this 'Blaine' person and Rory was seething. His phone beeped in his pocket and he saw a text message from an unfamiliar number. The message was simple and it sent a chill through Rory's body.

_Still think one can't change the past? You'd better fix this soon or you'll be gone for good. – Mr. F_

Rory couldn't move. This was too much to take in. Since when was Mr. Flanagan actually right about something? Rory was terrified and didn't know how to fix any of this. His dads couldn't see him or hear him and his room was gone – there was nothing that he _could_ do, realistically.

Without even really thinking, Rory scooped up his bag and rushed out the door. Harmony didn't live too far away, and he was afraid that other people wouldn't know him, too. He sprinted the whole way to her house, and by the time he rang the doorbell to his aunt and uncle's house, Rory was out of breath and covered in a sheen of sweat. "Rory?" Finn asked, confused, as he opened the door.

"I…I need… to talk…to Harmony," he panted.

Finn raised an eyebrow but nodded and let Rory in. Harmony was singing. Rory could hear her voice echoing from the basement music room that the Hudson family had. "They're rehearsing downstairs," Finn said as he gestured to the stairs to the basement.

"Thanks," Rory replied breathlessly.

He was relieved that his uncle had recognized him, but that didn't give him any hope as he walked to the basement. If Harmony or Aunt Rachel didn't recognize him, Rory might just punch a hole through a wall. He couldn't believe that Mr. Flanagan had actually been right about something.

When Rory reached the landing, Rachel abruptly stopped singing and rushed up to hug him. "Would you like to join us, Rory? Our lesson is Broadway themed this week, and we were just looking over a few numbers from _Wicked_!" Rachel explained.

Rory was still trying to catch his breath, and Harmony replied for him. "Mom, we just need a few minutes," she said as she batted Rachel out of the way and pulled Rory to the side. "Come back in five minutes, okay? Please?"

Rachel looked as though she wanted to argue, but she nodded and went upstairs, baffled by her daughter's strange behavior. Usually Harmony loved having duet partners besides Rachel and Finn. "What's going on?" Harmony hissed. "This is my music lesson! I'll never get into NYADA if you keep interrupting like this!"

"He was right," Rory panted. "Mr. F. He was right. Dad and Pa…they…" Rory leaned over and rested his hands on his knees as he groaned, "They don't remember me. He changed the fucking past, Harmony."

"I told you he wasn't kidding," she shot, her arms crossed in annoyance.

Rory glared up at her and said, "Can you not be all high and mighty right now? We need to fix this or _I'm going to disappear!_"

That seemed to get Harmony back on his side, and she began pacing the room, muttering little words here and there as she searched for the solution. "What if…what if you just have to apologize to him?" she asked.

Rory stood up straight and fumbled for his cell phone. He typed out a flimsy _I'm sorry_ message to Mr. F, but almost instantly received one afterwards that said: _Not good enough_. He frowned and shook his head, "It's not good enough."

Harmony bit her lip and spotted their time machine in the corner. Rachel had invested in one almost as soon as they were put on the market so she could go back in time and see all of her favorite Broadway stars in their performances. "You need to fix this," she said simply, a smile growing on her face.

"Seriously?" Rory asked, annoyed. "You _just_ figured that one out?"

"No, no, I mean you literally have to go back in time and fix this! You have to introduce your dads again and make them fall in love!" Harmony explained enthusiastically. "You _have_ to!"

Rory wanted to call Harmony crazy, but she had a point. He didn't want to disappear, and it was worth a try. He nodded slowly and said, "Yeah, okay, but how do I do it without messing things up more?"

"You'll figure it out," Harmony reassured him as she tugged him over to the time machine. "They got together in their senior year of high school, right?" Rory nodded and Harmony continued, "We'll send you to the beginning of their senior year. Then you just need to get them together and then you can come back."

She fiddled with the dials on the time machine and set him to go back in time to September 9, 2011. "You'll be there until December," she said, setting the second date, the bring-back date, so Rory wouldn't be stuck in 2011 forever. "That's all the time you have, and you _have_ to get them together by then, okay?"

"I need a specific date, you crazy woman," Rory shot, annoyed.

"I'll give you until the day after Christmas. December 26, 2011. Get them together by then or I think you might be gone," Harmony said, her voice overdramatically serious.

Rory looked over at her and took a deep breath. "This is crazy," he shook his head.

Harmony grinned and said, "Yes, but it's an adventure. School was boring you anyway. Go fool around in the past for a bit. Have fun."

She pulled Rory into one of her bone-crushing hugs, and he patted her back until she finally released her grip on him. He eyed her skeptically and stepped up on the platform. It looked like the transporters in his dad's favorite old-school movie, Star Trek, and Rory nervously stood on the spot in the corner of Harmony's basement. "Ready?" she asked enthusiastically.

Rory took a deep breath and nodded, and he closed his eyes as Harmony pressed the button on the machine and Rory's world began to spin around him.


	2. Chapter 2

When the world stopped spinning around Rory, he expected to find himself in the same house, in the basement, but 17 years before. Instead he found himself standing in the middle of an old, abandoned park on the street where his aunt and uncle live. Or will live, rather – this time travel thing is confusing. He looked around in hopes of finding someone or something to help him, but it is painfully obvious to him as his eyes take in the sights around him that he is horribly unprepared for this adventure to the past. He heard a crunching of a twig and spun around to find himself face to face with an innocent looking blonde girl. "Have you seen my cat?" she asked curiously.

Rory just raised an eyebrow at her. "Lord Tubbington went missing and I'm trying to find him. I hope he hasn't started smoking again," she explained, though it didn't really clear up any of his confusion whatsoever.

The girl walked past him, seemingly oblivious to this stranger. Her cheerleading skirt shook when she walked, and he could see her perfect, pale thighs through the pleats. "Do I know you?" she asked. After the girl peeked around the light post for her cat she stood up and looked him over. "You look kind of like a leprechaun."

Rory wanted to protest, to say that these clothes were in fashion where he came from, but he stopped himself. Reminders that he'd have to blend in so he wouldn't ruin the past flooded to his mind, and he swallowed before putting on his best impression of his teacher. "I'm Rory," he smiled with a thick Irish accent. "I'm here from Ireland for a semester. I'm looking for a place to stay."

"I have no idea what you said," the girl told him as she cocked her head to the side in confusion. "But you should totally help me find my cat. Then we can go hang out at my house."

Rory grinned at the thought of going home with this girl. She was hot, that was undeniable, though her IQ seemed a bit low. "I'm Brittany, by the way," she said as she began to wander down the street.

Curiously, Rory followed this girl as she walked down the center of the road without a care. He found himself wondering who had let her out, because she didn't seem like the most stable, and maybe letting her go out on her own was a bad idea. They walked for blocks as the sun began to set, and Rory found himself wondering if Brittany even knew where she was going. She led him into a house after a couple more blocks, and she walked up to a woman who was sitting on a chair playing guitar and singing to an abnormally fat cat about how bad he smelled. Rory raised an eyebrow but didn't ask questions. "Hey mom," Brittany said casually as she wandered inside. "I brought a leprechaun home."

The woman in the chair looked up at him and smiled. "It's nice to meet you," she said. "I'm Phoebe."

"Nice to meet you, Phoebe," Rory replied, the Irish accent still sticking. "I'm Rory."

When she didn't ask a single question about why he was there, and when Brittany hadn't even realized that her cat had been at home the whole time, Rory wondered just what kind of people he'd found. They weren't normal, that was for sure. "Mom, can the leprechaun stay with us while he goes to school with me?" she asked.

"His name is Rory, Britt," Phoebe told her. "I'm sure we could let him have the guest bedroom." She turned to Rory and asked, "Where are your bags? We'll bring you upstairs."

"I uh…" Rory only had his bookbag with him, and he looked around for a minute, stumbling for words. "I got mugged," he lied, his words coming out slowly as he made them up on the spot. "Some man…a big scary bloke…came and stole my bags so now I just have my books."

Phoebe frowned and said, "We'll take you shopping tomorrow."

Rory was surprised at that, but thanked her and let her lead him up to "his room." He hadn't expected to find somewhere to stay so easily. He thought maybe he could seek out his aunt and uncle, or even one of his dads, but this place had fallen right into his lap.

He decided that the best way to go about this was to just blend in and get a feel for everything. Rory didn't even know if his parents were together yet. The first week at school answered that for him pretty quickly, though. Rory had seen Kurt in passing, but now the phone call with Blaine made a lot more sense. Rory felt sick to his stomach at the sight of his dad hanging off of some short dark haired guy whose hair looked like a helmet. It needed to end, but Rory didn't know how to fix it. On top of that, he was distracted by Brittany.

Brittany thought he was magical, and the promise of losing his virginity was at the other end of this strange act, so he went with it. That's how Rory found himself picking marshmallows out of a box of Lucky Charms one afternoon after school.

He was minding his own business, not even paying attention to anyone else around him, when a familiar, friendly voice called out, "Hey!"

Rory looked up to find himself with the seventeen-year-old version of his uncle. It was the strangest sight, and he slowly stood up with wide, amazed eyes and said, "Finn Hudson."

"You…know who I am?" Finn asked, confused.

Rory was always one to do well with thinking on the spot, and without skipping a beat, he explained, "I saw you on YouTube losing glee club nationals after tongue-kissing your girlfriend for ten minutes."

It was still difficult for Rory to believe that he was actually face to face with the younger version of his uncle. Finn wandered over to the table Rory was sorting out Lucky Charms on, and he straddled a chair on the opposite side of the table from Rory. "Are you from around here?" Finn asked curiously.

Rory looked up and smirked, "Doesn't my accent answer that question for you?"

"Right," Finn said with a nervous laugh.

"To answer your question, no, I'm not from around here," Rory said as he put more marshmallows in the box. He had dropped his accent, so he was curious as to how Finn would react.

Rory looked up to find Finn looking absolutely baffled. "You sound like it now…" Finn trailed off, confused.

"If I tell you something, do you promise to keep it a secret? No matter what?" Rory asked.

Finn nodded vigorously and watched Rory in interest. "I traveled through time to come back and fix something I messed up," Rory explained.

He watched Finn closely to see how he'd react. Telling somebody was extremely risky, and Rory was aware of this. Then again, he had his suspicions as to why Finn had been so eager to purchase a time machine once they came out on the market – he _knew_ it wasn't just so Rachel could go see her idols perform in their Broadway debuts. "So wait," Finn said, his brain processing everything Rory had just told him. "You're from the future?"

"Yep, and you're my uncle," Rory replied simply.

Finn gaped at Rory for a moment before he asked, "So…why are you here?"

Rory sighed and looked up at Finn. "I told my crazy Irish teacher that I didn't believe that someone could change the past…so he changed the past to prove me wrong," Rory explained. "I went home after school and it was like I never existed. My dads were in the same house but weren't even acknowledging each other. I have to fix this." He sighed and finished, "I came back to get my dads together, and I need your help."

Finn wasn't sure who Rory meant by "his dads," except for Kurt, obviously, but that was beside the point. The point was that if they didn't move fast, the rest of Rory's life would be in jeopardy. "What can I do?" Finn asked, intrigued at the prospect of helping someone from the future.

Rory stopped picking marshmallows from the rest of the Lucky Charms cereal and took a deep breath. He hadn't really thought about it, but he would need help, so he may as well just come out with it. "When the time comes…just get Sam Evans back," Rory said simply.

A million questions ran through Finn's head at that, but he knew that asking them would only slow everything down, and possibly even hurt Rory. With a small smile, Finn nodded and said, "Okay."

Rory grinned up at his uncle and thanked him, then turned back to sorting out the marshmallows and putting them in the box. Finn bid Rory goodbye and left the classroom after that and he couldn't focus on classes so long as this question of what Sam had to do with anything was running through his mind.

It was pretty easy to assimilate into everything, Rory learned. As long as he kept his head down and just took the locker shoves, people didn't suspect anything. He used the accent when he spoke, and he and Finn would exchange knowing glances every so often. Rory felt a lot more at ease now that he had Finn on his side, even with Santana breathing down his neck. Now the reason why Sugar Lopez was such a bitch was extremely evident, though the identity of her other parent was still a mystery to Rory.

It wasn't until Santana's glee club faced off against the New Directions Rory had joined for Finn that things got tricky again. Rory wasn't sure if he was supposed to know what dodgeball was – his dads never talked about it and he had no idea what people in Ireland did when they faced off like this. Rory played dumb and some guy in a mohawk told him not to die, and Rory figured that was the simplest way to put it.

He hung around the back and tried not to get hit, and when the ball bumped his ankle, he rushed back where the people that were "out" sat. He watched the rest of the game wind down, and he winced when Finn got hit straight in the face. Finn was admirable about it though, and Rory was amused at how long Finn had been this nice. Most guys in high school would have flipped out at that.

Rory rushed up to Finn, but before he could get more than three words out, the entire group of Trouble Tones were pelting him with red rubber balls. One hit him particularly hard in the nose, and Rory folded in on himself to keep more from hitting him. He vaguely registered a familiar voice rushing to his aid, and Rory looked over timidly to see his father unknowingly standing up for his son.

When Kurt pushed him to the side, Rory let him, and he just let Kurt slip into his fatherly mode and clean up the blood from his face. "Are you okay? Do you need medicine or to see the school nurse or something?" Kurt asked.

Rory just shook his head, unsure of what to say to the younger version of his father. "I can't believe they'd do this to you," Kurt ranted. "They're barbaric, and this bullying of Santana's has gotten out of hand." Kurt tossed the bloody towel to the side and looked into Rory's eyes sympathetically. "I'm really sorry she did this. I swear we're not all like that."

"It's okay, da-Kurt," Rory said, catching himself.

He'd slipped out of his accent and almost called Kurt 'dad.' Rory mentally kicked himself. He had to keep this foreign exchange student thing up or he'd get caught and all hell would break loose. Kurt raised an eyebrow at him, but chalked it up to the fact that Rory was new and still learning names. "Well…if they ever bully you again, let me know, okay?" Kurt asked. Rory nodded, and Kurt smiled a bit as he said, "I know a guy who might be willing to come back to kick her into shape for you."

Rory just nodded and mumbled, "Thank you."

"You should get home and take some pain medicine before that really starts to smart," Kurt said as he helped Rory stand. "I'm really sorry this happened to you."

"I'll be fine," Rory replied, his accent firmly back in place. "Don't worry about me. Thanks, Kurt."

Kurt smiled and nodded, and Rory couldn't get over how weird it was to talk to Kurt Hummel, call him by his first name, and talk to him as though they were _equals_, not father and son. On his way out of the school, Rory was pulled to the side by Finn, and he asked, "What's going on?"

"I found Sam," Finn said proudly. "Now I just need to find a way to get him back to McKinley."

"Well…don't we need more people in New Directions to be able to compete at Sectionals?" Rory asked.

Finn grinned and nodded, "That's it."

Rory smiled as well, and Finn admitted, "You're really smart."

With a shrug, Rory just said, "Yeah, well…look at who my dads are. There would be something wrong if I wasn't."

Without another word, Rory left McKinley and went to Brittany's house. He couldn't stop smiling all night long at the thought that the matchmaking plan would be going into effect soon – all Rory had to do was wait for Finn to bring Sam back.


	3. Chapter 3

The worst thing about traveling back in time, Rory decided, was the fact that he couldn't get in contact with Harmony while he was here. Rory had never dated anyone, only seen others around him date people, and he avoided chick flicks like they were the plague. Harmony would know exactly what to do to get two people together. Rory, on the other hand, didn't. He was absolutely clueless. Asking someone for help was out of the question because that would mean telling them the whole story, and the whole trick to time travel is to stay sneaky so the cover isn't blown.

So Rory found himself moping around the choir room with some of the other guys. They were complaining that they didn't have a shot in hell to win Sectionals, which Rory knew wouldn't be true – unless he managed to mess something up. His parents were insanely proud of winning all the way through Nationals that year, and Rory hoped his visit wouldn't mess that up, too. Kurt was just likening their chances to a sinking ship when a voice broke their chattering.

Rory looked to the doorway to see Sam Evans striding in, a big grin on his face. Rory wanted to leap up and hug him, but to also hug Finn. He couldn't believe his parents were _finally_ at least in the same town. That would make getting them together so much easier. Everyone got up to greet him, and Rory was just about to say, "Hi, dad!" when Kurt cut him off.

"That's Sam," he explained to Rory kindly. "Sam Evans. He used to go here, but then he had to move away."

Rory had to bite back an, "I know," and he chided himself. He had to get his head back into this whole 'Rory Flanagan' act or he'd blow his cover. He kindly said hello to Sam, who looked at him strangely, and then stepped back as Sam strapped on a guitar and began to sing. The song was ridiculous, to say the least, but his dads would always tell him the story of this day and how annoyed Kurt was with the song, but how cute he thought it was that Sam was singing country. "His voice is just better suited to sing country music," Kurt would say nonchalantly when Sam would tease him about loving the song so much. "It's got nothing to do with the song," Kurt would always insist.

Well, all it took was one look at Kurt's face during the song and everything sort of made sense. Especially when that hard-haired guy – Blaine, his name was – kept singing it in Kurt's face. That would get annoying fast. Rory didn't want to seem creepy so he decided to wait until Sam got a chance to say hello to everyone he'd missed before he would approach Sam. Soon, though. He'd approach Sam before the end of the week to at least say hello.

As they were leaving the choir room, Finn walked up to Rory excitedly and asked, "So now you just get them together, right!"

Finn looked so proud of himself, and so excited to have Sam back, but Rory just frowned and shook his head. "Not really," he replied, keeping the Irish accent he usually dropped when he was around Finn. They were in the hallway at school and anyone could hear them. "I mean, Kurt's with that greasy guy – we have to figure out a way for that to end, first."

"How long do we have?" Finn asked curiously.

"Harmony set the machine to bring me back the day after Christmas," Rory explained.

Finn looked confused and asked, "Harmony?"

Rory wasn't sure what he should tell Finn about the future, so he just waved off his question and said, "A friend."

"A girlfriend?" Finn teased with a coy smile.

Rory's eyes widened and he shook his head fervently. "No way," he said quickly. "I…just _no_."

Harmony was his cousin and never in a million years would he date his cousin, even if only by his grandparents' marriage. He couldn't tell Finn that, though, because it would give everything away. Finn didn't look like he believed him, but one day he'd understand. "So…it's November and we still haven't done anything," Finn trailed off.

"I know," Rory said. He bit his lip and shook his head, "I don't know what to do."

Just as Finn was about to make a suggestion, Santana walked by and asked, "What's the matter? Afraid the New Directions aren't going to be able to win against the Trouble Tones?" She smiled sweetly at them – or as sweetly as Santana (or Satan, as Rory liked to call her) could possibly manage. "It's okay," she reassured them. "You guys always lose. It's not like this will be anything new."

Finn opened his mouth to yell at her, but Rory tugged at his arm to pull Finn's attention away from her. "Focus, Finn," Rory said.

It was still strange to call his parents and uncle and aunt by their first name only, but it was slowly becoming easier. "I don't know how you could possibly break up Kurt and Blaine," Finn admitted. He let out a defeated sigh and said, "They're like sickeningly in love."

It only took a few days to plant doubt in Finn's head that Kurt and Blaine really loved each other. The minute Blaine started to insult Sam, Kurt shirked away to the corner looking hurt instead of confronting Blaine, and something seemed off. After rehearsal that day, Rory slowly approached his father and asked, "Kurt?"

Kurt spun around, countless emotions swimming in his eyes as he asked softly, "Yeah?"

Rory swallowed. He hadn't seen Kurt this upset before…_ever_. It hurt. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Kurt insisted. He flashed Rory a fake smile and turned to walk back down the hallway.

Rory just stared after his father as Kurt rounded the corner, looking just as upset as before. "He doesn't open up to people when he's sad," Finn pointed out. "He never has and he probably never will."

Rory hadn't even realized that Finn was behind him until he spoke. Rory turned around and said, "It's because of what Blaine said."

"I know," Finn nodded.

Neither spoke as they desperately tried to come up with some sort of plan. Rory slowly turned around and said, "I don't think we can go at this from Kurt's side."

"What do you mean?"

"Kurt isn't going to admit anything's wrong in his relationship with Blaine," Rory pointed out. "He told me when I was younger that he was with Blaine because it was convenient and he wanted to feel like a normal teenager. He said that he loved Blaine, but not the same way he loved Pa."

Santana walked by and raised an eyebrow at them as they just kind of stood there and watched her. The exchange was awkward, to say the least, but when she was gone, Finn asked, "He seriously said that? He told you about Blaine?"

"Well, kind of," Rory shrugged. "He never told me a name…said it wasn't important…but yeah, he told me."

"Are you sure he meant Blaine, then?"

Rory nodded fervently and said, "My dads got together in their senior year of high school. Who else could it be between now and then?"

It made sense to Finn, of course. "So…what do we do now?" Finn asked.

Rory was getting rather irritated with this question, because he had no idea, but then he spotted Santana watching them curiously from down the hall and he said, "I think I have a plan. Kind of. I'll fill you in later."

Finn nodded as Rory rushed away without another word. Santana had her best bitch face on when Rory approached, and she asked, "What do you want, Leprechaun?"

"Come with me," he said.

Rory reached out for her arm and took hold of it. He led her into the nearest empty classroom and she stopped him almost immediately after they walked in. "Hold up here, gay boy," she shot roughly. "I'm taken by my girl Britts. You know that. I don't do these midday hookups, especially not for guys like you."

Rory turned around to face Santana, annoyed. His less-than-timid personality began to shine through the "Rory" personality he'd put in place and he dropped the accent to say, "I need your help."

At the lack of accent, Santana let out a laugh and said, "You're more fake than I gave you credit for." She crossed her arms and walked further into the classroom, nearer to where Rory stood at the center. "What's your problem, dork? I didn't think someone would _voluntarily_ make themselves more of a freak than they already are."

Rory sighed and said, "Cut the crap, Santana. We have a serious problem here and I think you're the only one that can help you."

"No, I'm not going to take your virginity," she said monotonously.

"Would you just shut up and listen!" Rory asked loudly. Santana looked at him, impressed at his gumption, and nodded. "If you tell anyone about this, I'll send someone back to kick your ass better than I ever could…I'm from the future."

Santana let out a hearty chuckle at this, and Rory said, "No, I'm serious. I'm from the future. I even know your daughter. She's kind of a bitch, but now I see where she gets it." Rory crossed his arms and said, "I'm here to try to get my parents together. I fucked things up in the future and I had to come back to fix it."

"How is your mistake any of my problem?" Santana asked.

Her voice was different – curious now, instead of rude, and she looked like she had a million questions. "You're the only one that can help me, I think," Rory admitted. "Sam will listen to you, right?"

"He usually does, yeah," Santana shrugged.

"I need you to talk to him," Rory told her. "He still loves Kurt, I know it. We have to get Blaine out of the picture and Kurt and Sam need to get together otherwise _I'm going to disappear_."

Santana raised an eyebrow and wandered closer to him. "Wait, so you're like Berry? Two gay dads and shit?" she asked.

"Yes," Rory sighed. "And I'm well aware of Rachel's dads, thanks. She mentions them _all the time_. Just in case I want to talk about my _feelings_ of it all or something. She's seriously no better in the future."

"I'll remember to avoid her, then," Santana shrugged. She started to circle Rory and looked at him through a scrutinizing gaze before asking, "What do I do?"

"You have to convince Sam that he's still in love with Kurt," Rory instructed. "If we don't put the idea in his head, then when…_if_…Finn and I ever convince Kurt to break up with Blaine or Blaine to break up with Kurt or something…then Sam is just right there."

Santana thought about it for a minute and nodded, "Yeah. Fine. I'll talk to him."

Rory beamed and said, "Thanks, Santana." She smirked at him, and he asked, "So…this whole secret is safe with you? I mean, couldn't exactly walk in here as Rory Evans."

"Yeah, I get it, you're all secret mission James Bond shit. Whatever," she shook her head and said, "Just don't slip up and I'll do my bit and we'll get your damn dads together." Rory smiled as Santana walked away, and just before she walked out of the classroom, she turned and said, "You have the most oblivious dads in the world, kid. I don't know how you turned out like you did."

This backhanded compliment just made Rory's smile grow, and he couldn't wait to tell Finn that things were going to work out, at least on one side of it all. Now all they had to do was figure out how to get Kurt to leave Blaine.


	4. Chapter 4

"Kurt, wait up!"

Rory froze at his locker and tried not to stare too much from the corner of his eyes as Blaine rushed after Kurt in the hallway. It was December and the school was decked out in more tinsel than Rory had ever imagined were possibly, and he watched as Blaine held out a small box to Kurt. Rory strained to hear the conversation.

"What's this?" Kurt asked, looking up at Blaine curiously.

The box was the perfect size for a ring, and that made Kurt's stomach instantly turn to knots. "Open it," Blaine insisted with a big, dopey smile on his face.

Blaine looked so proud of himself that Kurt nodded and slowly flipped the top of the box open. Inside was a simple silver band. "It's as close to Dior gray as I could get," Blaine explained. "Do you like it?"

Kurt just stared at the ring for a moment before he looked up at Blaine, his expression unreadable. "What does it mean?" Kurt asked softly, his voice trembling a bit.

Blaine's smile faltered and he glanced down at the box before looking up at Kurt. "It's…it's a promise ring," Blaine said as though it were the easiest thing to figure out in the world. "It's for you, because we're in love."

Rory felt a wave of nausea hit him, but he only stumbled a bit. He needed to hear the rest of the conversation. "Blaine, it's…" Kurt began. He looked like he wanted to turn it away, to give the ring back to Blaine and say it was too soon, but he didn't. Kurt's gaze met Blaine's and he offered Blaine a fake smile before he said, "It's great. Thank you."

Blaine's over-enthusiastic smile was plastered on his face yet again, and he said, "I'm glad you like it."

Kurt let the box snap shut and he turned to walk into the choir room, Blaine firmly planted at his side. As soon as Kurt and Blaine were out of sight, Rory burst into a fit of coughing that he couldn't control, and he nearly collapsed because of it all. "Woah, dude, are you okay?" Finn asked, rushing to Rory's aid.

Rory nodded, but his coughing didn't subside. When he finally managed to take a big enough gulp from the water fountain, Rory stood up straight and Finn looked concerned. "You're really pale, are you sure you're fine?" Finn repeated.

With a nod, Rory quietly walked into the choir room and sulked in the corner the rest of rehearsal. Things were definitely not going as planned.

Rory felt just as ill with the coming days, and as the days on the December calendar in the Hummel-Hudson residence ticked down to Christmas, Rory found himself looking worse for wear with each passing day. "You know Kurt's kind of freaked out about the ring thing, right?" Finn asked Rory one night while they were playing video games.

Kurt was away on a girl's night with Rachel and Mercedes, so they had no risk of being overheard. "He accepted the ring, Finn," Rory pointed out. "I'm doomed. The next," Rory glanced at the advent calendar on Finn's desk, "twelve days may just be my last."

"Don't say that," Finn insisted. He paused their video game and turned to Rory. "Maybe you're just sick because you're worried or the time travel is getting to you or something. We still have time to get them together."

Rory shook his head and fell into another fit of coughs, and Finn just patted his back and did his best to help Rory drink some water before they went back to their game. Rachel called after only thirty more minutes of game play, and Rory excused himself from Finn's room quietly as Finn was pulled into what would most likely be a very lengthy conversation. He wandered downstairs to refill his glass of water when he ran into Sam making himself some toast in the kitchen. "Hey," Sam said with a sigh.

Rory let out a cough before he adorned the Irish accent again and said, "Hey."

"You want a piece?" Sam offered as he loaded some bread into the toaster.

"Please," Rory nodded between coughs.

Sam put in a slice of bread for Rory right next to the slice of bread he'd put in for himself and pressed them down. Rory sipped at his water and Sam asked, "You okay?"

Rory nodded and said, "Just a cold."

"You've been sick for a while," Sam observed.

He watched Rory closely and noted how pale he was. Rory just shrugged; he wasn't sure how to respond to Sam in that moment. Hell, Rory didn't even know why he was sick in the first place. Sam reached up into the cupboard for a glass and poured Rory some orange juice. "It's not the best medicine, but vitamin C always helps you get better," Sam explained as he held the glass out to Rory.

Rory smiled and thanked Sam as he took the glass from him. His whole life growing up, Rory was always given a glass of orange juice from Sam when he was sick, which was a nice, calm alternative to Kurt's myriad of medications he'd practically shove down Rory's throat. It was nice, being taken care of by Sam, and it made Rory wish he'd never messed things up in his time. Now he might not ever get any moments besides these last few back in the year 2011. It was a depressing thought, to say the least. "I put cinnamon and sugar on my toast," Sam explained. "What do you want on yours?"

"Same," Rory said instantly.

Sam was usually the one to make breakfast in the Evans household that Rory grew up in – even Kurt couldn't deny that Sam's cinnamon sugar toast was one of the best breakfasts known to man. They sat at the table and ate their toast together, and Sam asked, "Do they have this kind of toast in Ireland?"

Rory nodded and swallowed his food before he said, "My dad makes toast like this all the time."

Sam looked at Rory sadly and asked, "Do you miss him?"

It was weird for Rory to look into Sam's eyes and just nod, "Yeah, I miss him."

"I miss my dad, too," Sam nodded, his voice soft and solemn. "My whole family, actually."

"I know how you feel," Rory agreed. "It's tough being away from them. I dunno if my family will ever be together again."

Sam looked up at Rory quickly and asked, "What do you mean?"

Rory knew he had to tread carefully, because one slip up could mess everything up. He spoke slowly and said, "Let's just say that when I go back home, my parents might not be together anymore, which would be really bad for me."

Instantly Sam's mind flew to the first logical solution he could think of, and he nodded, "Divorce is hard. I'm sorry to hear that, dude."

Rory just drank the rest of his juice and politely thanked Sam before he bid Sam goodnight and made his way back to Brittany's house. Sam watched as Rory left and walked down the street, and he felt a strange tugging in his chest – like there was something he should know or should have done. Sam shrugged it off as him being too tired to think correctly, and he went into the guest bedroom and fell asleep almost instantly.

The next day at school, Rory looked a bit more sickly than he did the day before, and on their way into the choir room, Sam just smiled sympathetically at Rory and suggested that he keep drinking orange juice. Rory promised he would, and he tried to ignore Santana's loud mention of the ring on Kurt's finger. It may have been on his right hand instead of his left, but everyone knew the minute Santana pointed it out that the ring was from Blaine, and that it was a promise.

Rory felt sick to his stomach.

When glee club rehearsal ended, Santana walked up to Rory and said, "I've got your back, Irish. Never forget that."

Those were the only words she spoke to him before wandering out of the room hand in hand with Brittany. Later that afternoon Rory spotted Santana approaching Sam at his locker, and as much as he wanted to listen, he couldn't. He felt like he'd tip over, and he could have sworn that he just looked _through_ one of his fingers to see which textbook he was picking up. He stuffed his things in his bag and got out of school as quickly as he could.

Santana didn't beat around the bush – she called things how she saw them, and things were down to the line. She had to hold up her end of the bargain or Rory would be far more screwed over than she could even fathom. She stepped right up next to Sam and pushed his locker shut. "Santana, I…" he began, but she cut him off.

"Listen, I know we've hardly talked since I came back, besides when I read you my well thought out book of insults in case you ever _did_ come back, but I needs to be serious with you," she said. Santana looked up at Sam pointedly and told him simply, "I saw the way you were looking at Kurt today in the choir room."

Sam felt a slight heat cross his cheeks, and he asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on, Trouty Mouth," Santana rolled her eyes. "You may fool all those other idiots in glee club, but you can't fool me. You're still in love with Kurt."

Sam furrowed his brow and stammered, "How do you…? I mean…what?" When she didn't seem to want to hedge on what she'd said, he shook his head and insisted, "No, I'm not."

Santana sighed and crossed her arms as she leaned against the locker bay. "Look, I know I'm not always the nicest person, especially to you, but I've got to admit, I care about you. You were there for me last year when Britt was with Artie, and I want to try to help you in return," Santana explained.

It was a losing battle, denying things any more, and Sam knew this. He sighed and shook his head, "Thanks, but it doesn't matter. Kurt's with Blaine and he seems happy and pretty serious about it, so…"

"Oh please," Santana shot as she reached out to stop Sam from walking away. "Again, everyone else in the glee club may be stupid enough to think that Kurt's _actually_ happy with Blaine, but I'm not an idiot. He's settling for Blaine – it's _obvious_."

"No, he's not settling," Sam insisted. "They're happy. They're…engaged to be engaged or whatever."

"Kurt's settling for Blaine because he doesn't know how you feel," Santana told him. "He wants to fit in just like everyone else. To have a boyfriend, like everyone else."

Santana looked into Sam's eyes seriously, hoping to get her point across, but Sam just shook his head. "Forget it, okay? It's nice, what you're trying to do, but it's too late. I've accepted that," Sam shrugged.

He turned to walk away, and as he left the school, Santana shouted after him, "It's never too late, Sammy!"

Sam blushed furiously and ducked his head as he walked out of the school, hoping to avoid starting any sort of scene. On his way out of the school, Sam didn't even notice when he walked right past Rory, though that might have been because his arm passed right through Rory's and he didn't even notice.

Rory stared after Sam as he walked out the door and pointed avoided turning back to look at Santana. From the looks of things, that hadn't gone nearly as well as he'd hoped. Rory sighed and cursed himself for being so stupid and wishing this upon himself before continuing his slow trek back to Brittany's house.


End file.
